Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“The mating bond has benefits,” he said slowly, stretching his neck from side to side. “And not just for Vampires. Both mates become essentially immortal.”
I let out a nervous giggle, waiting for him to start laughing with me. “What does essentially mean?” I asked sarcastically, playing along.
“You won’t get sick. You won’t age,” Beau replied seriously. “You cannot be killed outright unless…” He paused and swallowed hard like he was trying to force himself to finish.
“Unless your head’s cut off,” Chance finished for him. “That whole stake in the heart thing? Bullshit. Garlic? I love the stuff. Danny’s not a fan, though.”
“Garlic’s okay,” Danny disagreed.
“Holy water tastes okay in a pinch, and it doesn’t burn. Bullets always sting no matter if they’re silver, copper, lead, or steel.”
“So…everything is bullshit, and I’m going to live forever,” I said, hysteria making my voice go all high and pitchy.
“I was going to tell you,” Beau said, his thumb tracing patterns on my knee. “We hadn’t gotten that far yet.”
“Whose fault is that?”
“It’s a closely guarded secret,” Beau’s dad announced as he came back into the room. “As far as humans know, we’re blessed with a longer life than theirs, and we’re harder to injure and kill—but we’re still fallible—because we are before the mating bond.”
“It’s why we have to quit our jobs when we find our mates,” Beau explained as he helped me to my feet and led me over to the kitchen table. “It would be too easy to ferret out the truth if we continued working with the military.”
“That’s the job you talked about having to quit,” I mused as I sat down in one of the chairs.
“It’s one of the reasons,” Beau’s dad agreed. He reached out and gently but firmly took my wrist from Beau and pulled until my arm was stretched out across the table. “But we also believe that a Vampire’s priority is their mate first and anything else second. Leaving for long periods of time wouldn’t be possible for years, if ever. The two responsibilities have never been able to coexist.” He looked meaningfully at Beau, and a moment later, my mate’s arms were wrapped tightly around my waist and chest, holding my uninjured arm against my body.
I yelped in pain when Erik unwrapped my wrist and his palm came in contact with my skin.
His eyes shot to mine in surprise. “That hurts you?”
“Like stinging nettles,” I confirmed.
“Damn, Reese,” Chance teased. “Got the hots for the old man, huh?”
“No, I don’t,” I shot back, my voice squeaking like a twelve-year-old’s. I looked at Erik. “I mean, of course, you’re attractive—” Beau growled almost silently in my ear. “Aesthetically pleasing,” I rushed to say. “In a purely academic way. But I don’t see you like that. At all. That would be—”
“Quiet,” Erik ordered.
When had he become Erik in my head?
“I’ve never aversion this strong before,” he said curiously, watching me as he carefully wrapped gauze around the back of my arm so our skin didn’t touch when he gripped it. “I’d have Mattie do this, but the poor woman is squeamish. I’ll do my best not to make contact.”
“Or we could just slap some butterfly bandages on and call it a day,” I offered hopefully.
“Nice try,” Beau murmured, his lips against my neck.
The feeling of him there had my body unconsciously sinking back against him.
“You going to watch?” Erik asked easily.
I jerked my head quickly to the side and stared at the window behind the sink. The sun was beginning to rise.
My arm from my elbow to my wrist burned like fire for a few moments, and I inhaled on a hiss, trying to stay still, but only a few seconds later, the entire area was numb.
I continued to look out the window.
“Are you qualified to do this?” I asked Erik, leaning back against Beau. “I mean, you guys are loaded, so it’s not like we can’t afford an actual doctor.”
Beau’s brothers laughed, and he let out a huff of amusement against my hair.
“I’ve been stitching knife wounds for a long time,” Erik replied dryly.
“I didn’t mean to make the cut so big,” I confessed, still staring out the window. I was pretty sure that if I accidentally got a look at what he was doing, I’d vomit all over the table in front of me.
“That’s good to hear,” Erik said. “I’m still confused why you did it in the first place.”
“Beau looked like shit, and then he passed out, and I couldn’t wake him up.” I began to turn my head, then realized what I was doing and glared at the window again. “He said at dinner that my blood is like his perfect meal or whatever.”
Erik chuckled. “Are you not exchanging blood?” he asked curiously.
“I put a kibosh on that for the moment,” I replied quietly.